SELANGOR recorded the highest number of criminal cases involving Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, with 58 of the 199 cases reported nationwide between 2022 and August 2026, as the government moves to strengthen refugee registration and monitoring.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Kedah recorded the second-highest number with 26 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 22.
Police recorded 52 cases in 2022, 43 in 2023, 37 in 2024, 29 in 2025 and 38 in the first eight months of 2026, he said in a written parliamentary reply.
Saifuddin was responding to Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan (BN-Kuala Pilah), who sought details of crimes involving Rohingya refugees by state and measures to strengthen controls, registration and monitoring to maintain public safety and order.
He said National Security Council Directive No. 23 provided a framework for managing all refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, rather than focusing exclusively on the Rohingya community.
Under the framework, the government is strengthening oversight through the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme, which centralises refugee data and reduces full reliance on records maintained by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Migrants whose status has been verified are issued a DPP card, recognised by the government as an official identity document permitting temporary stay in Peninsular Malaysia pending a final decision on their cases.
In a separate written reply, Saifuddin said the Immigration Department detained 159,232 undocumented migrants in 53,318 enforcement operations nationwide from 2025 to August 2026, after inspecting 659,191 people.
Action was also taken against 6,099 employers for hiring or harbouring undocumented migrants without valid authorisation. Offences included lacking valid immigration documents, overstaying and breaching permit conditions.
Saifuddin also said police recorded one case involving forged UNHCR cards in Kuala Lumpur. The case involved six Myanmar nationals, all of whom had been charged in court. - October 16, 2026